I agree Fabian would have been good to see after this non event. A gift of a race for a guy in super form. Ballan and Pozzato after being at the kill last week did not want to chase, on from what I've read, are somewhat spurious grounds. Hushvod was never in this race and is not in peak winning form. So I'm screaming at the tv for someone, anyone to chase the Quickstep duo. You don't allow the red hot favourite a gap of even 5 seconds. Do these guys want to race? I know Fabian does. As for Sky, don't they talk? They had four guys but allowed Terpstra to break their rhythm. Forget Rabo they were pretenders. Oh dear, let's hope next year everyone prepares properly, stays healthy and it pisses down so we have a real race.

They had it there for a publicity stunt for sure... As it would be illegal to use it in a road race!.Interesting that you saw it as a non event UJ... I saw it as the favorite attacking 53 km's from the finish and no one else being able to bring him back.

toolonglegs wrote:They had it there for a publicity stunt for sure... As it would be illegal to use it in a road race.

Why are disc-braked bikes verboten? Would make sense. The race is testing the fitness and tech of bikes, surely disc brakes are part of the ongoing innovation in bike tech?

Everything else aside... UCI controls what constitutes a road bike... At the moment discs are not allowed. But I think that the UCI have also stated that no manufacturers had asked as of the start of the season for any to be considered either.

That's one way of looking at it. And to give him his dues he rode at an average of 43.48 km/hr over that course! 4 PR wins is amazing. His ability on the cobbles is unparalleled.

All academic now but I much prefer close racing. PR has a history of the lone break succeeding but when the two Italians rued their tactics last week a bit of collusion and cooperation would have helped their cause. You would stick to his wheel like glue surely. Let's hope the Ardennes classics give some tight racing.

I think Boonen showed his class - it seems the new team management have got Tom to focus on cycling instead of being the party boy. Also showed the strength of the amalgamated Omega Pharma Quickstep team. Sky gave been revealed as a team divided - there are far too many stars and not enough workers. With Hushovdt apparently out of form it wasn't going to be payday for BMC. None of the teams/riders were ever real prospects.

There are issues such as the risk of serious injury in the event of a mass pile-up. If a paper hand could slash Hushovdt's arm, imagine what damage a brake disc might do. And would the teams use them anyway? Imagine trying to do a quick wheel change, disc pads won't line up, peleoton is riding away. Can't see it happening any time soon.

There are issues such as the risk of serious injury in the event of a mass pile-up. If a paper hand could slash Hushovdt's arm, imagine what damage a brake disc might do. And would the teams use them anyway? Imagine trying to do a quick wheel change, disc pads won't line up, peleoton is riding away. Can't see it happening any time soon.

You are probably right. At this stage I could only see them being used in wet races of PR anyway. The right setup should have an advantage in mountain descents for modulation, especially in the wet. But I can't see anyone wanting to haul them around with the aero disadvantage. Time will tell.

As for safety, discs have the potential risk of guillotining and burns in crashes. But the UCI allowed them for CX, so it will be interesting to see what their judgement is. I think the manufacturers can see dollar signs in marketing discs well to encourage a large number of roadies to upgrade or buy an extra bike with discs. Since most roadies appear to have too much money anyway...

Nobody wrote:As for safety, discs have the potential risk of guillotining and burns in crashes. But the UCI allowed them for CX, so it will be interesting to see what their judgement is. I think the manufacturers can see dollar signs in marketing discs well to encourage a large number of roadies to upgrade or buy an extra bike with discs. Since most roadies appear to have too much money anyway...

Good point. There appears no rational basis for much of their ruling so who knows, can't see how they can't allow them now

Mtbers crash all the time. They have used discs for years in competition, how many suffer damage from discs? I think it may change as technology improves but current brake technology on the road is sufficient unless on long wet descents the pads wear prematurely.

RonK wrote:And would the teams use them anyway? Imagine trying to do a quick wheel change, disc pads won't line up, peleoton is riding away. Can't see it happening any time soon.

it's pretty easy to fit a disc wheel - why wouldn't the pads line up? the high end disc brakes have plenty of adjustment anyway. i don't see any major impediment.

Adding to this statement, the race teams can also shim all their discs exactly alike (if there is a difference) for easy changes. So mechanical discs should be able to swap out faster than caliper brakes as there is no caliper to release before and engage after the wheel change.

Uncle Just wrote:Mtbers crash all the time. They have used discs for years in competition, how many suffer damage from discs? I think it may change as technology improves but current brake technology on the road is sufficient unless on long wet descents the pads wear prematurely.

I've yet to see a mass pile of MTBer's like we see regularly in road races and have just seen in Paris-Roubaix,

True you don't usually get the mass pile ups (sometimes off the start line) but the point remains discs rarely if ever to my knowledge cause injury problems during crashes. As another poster pointed out there are other parts of the bike that can and do hurt in a crash. I'm all for technical advancement if warranted. Does the current technology warrant investment in disc brakes? Do road riders really need them? If there is an option on muddy or wet mountainous courses then it may have a place. This stuff often filters across to other forms of bike riding and discs are state of the art. I look forward to Shimano's touted hydro road disc setup.

From CTs blog...."David Millar, watching from home, may have summed it up when he Tweeted, “Pozzato, SO f**cking Italian.” He seemed to be referring to the way Pozzato looked behind him at Ballan and Turgot instead of immediately jumping on the Boonen Express at 56 kilometres out.

“They were not second- but third-rate riders Boonen was up against,” said De Vlaeminck. “Take Pozzato. If you want to win then in the last hundred kilometres you shouldn’t drift one centimetre from Boonen’s wheel. … A sad affair.”

Uncle Just wrote:“They were not second- but third-rate riders Boonen was up against,” said De Vlaeminck. “Take Pozzato. If you want to win then in the last hundred kilometres you shouldn’t drift one centimetre from Boonen’s wheel. … A sad affair.

Well to be fair back in his day he was racing and sometimes beating Merckx ... allegedly as a youngster when Merckx was impressed with his talent he asked him to join his team, but De Vlaeminck refused saying he would rather beat Merckx .But yes he is rather outspoken and probably doesn't like been equaled by anyone .